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I got into 40k through Dawn of War and fell in love with both 40k and Fantasy after reading some of the books. I do some writing of my own, and I'm working on some fan fiction about a Chapter of Space Marines I've created. I've just painted my first two miniatures too, and really enjoyed that so I thought I'd post the background for my Marines to see what everyone thinks.
The Doom Tigers were one of the first successor Chapters created after the Second Founding. They were commissioned to protect the Osweald system and it's important forge world from Chaos incursions due to Warp Storms that were predicted to appear in the system. Planet Osweald's defenses once included a mighty Titan Legion, but during the Horus Heresy the legion destroyed itself after half its number turned to Chaos.
Brother Godric was chosen to be the first Chapter Master and legend has it that Godric stood before the Emperor himself and was charged with the defense of the sector. Caring little for speculation and idle chatter, Godric has never confirmed nor denied this rumor but many among the Chapter believe it is true.
The Chapter maintains strong relations with the leaders of the various planets and organizations within the subsector. Godric foresaw that such ties would be critical to the survival of the subsector if the Warp Storms cut Osweald off from the rest of the Imperium. The Doom Tigers are based on planet Osweald's solitary moon, which had been terraformed then abandoned for centuries for unknown reasons.
The Doom Tigers were created using Blood Angels genetic material, most likely tithed from one of the Second Founding Chapters. The techpriests of Mars sought to correct the flaws in the geneseed, and they succeeded to an extent. They were able to significantly reduce the occurrence of the Black Rage and Red Thirst, but at a heavy price. It was quickly found that rather than eventually being able to suppress the Red Thirst or be somewhat controlled by a Chaplain in the Black Rage, Doom Tigers who succumb to either go berserk and kill anything that doesn't kill them first, including their own battle brothers. When one succumbs to such frenzy if he is not killed quickly then the condition may begin to spread to other Marines.
For this reason, Godric tasked the chaplains and librarians under his command to try to find a way to help control what he called the Death Frenzy and prevent its spread when a Marine was overtaken by it. Through decades of research and field experience, secret rites were developed that helped decrease the likelihood of the frenzy. The only part of these rites known outside the Chapter is plainly evident when the Doom Tigers go to war.
In order to master themselves, the Doom Tigers constantly take themselves to edge of reason when in combat. An Inquisitor sent to investigate the enigmatic Chapter wrote that while they work themselves into an almost berserk rage before and during battle, any Marine who is thought to be succumbing to the Death Frenzy is quickly identified through unknown means and subsequently eliminated, by his own battle brothers if necessary. She hypothesized that by taking themselves to the edge of madness and learning to control their fury the Doom Tigers become more resistant to the Death Frenzy.
The librarians also developed special techniques to shield their brother's minds from the psychic energy emanted by a Marine taken by the Death Frenzy. Thus, no sizeable force of Doom Tigers ever deploys without at least a chaplain and a librarian.
For over four hundred years, Godric led his Chapter and commanded the defense of the sector against orks and other savage aliens. Then the Warp Storms came. As predicted, much of the subsector was isolated from the rest of the Empire. Over the next two hundred years, the Doom Tigers fought almost continuously to thwart the daemons and other creatures of the Warp that the storms spit into reality.
Seeing that the Space Marines were the subsector's only hope, the Master of the Forge pledged to supply the Doom Tigers with the best weapons and artificers the forge could produce. The governor of the subsector made all the worlds under his control available for recruiting new Marines to replace those lost in the battles against Chaos.
The Doom Tigers, along with the Imperial Guard and Planetary Defence Forces of the subsector, suffered heavy casualties during this first Warp Storm. Godric fell defending the forge from a massive Chaos invasion of planet Osweald just before the storms began to abate. He was interred in dreadnought armor and continues to serve the Emperor as such.
Over the millennia, the Doom Tigers became legendary heroes on the worlds under their protection. Godric, in particular, came to be viewed as a mighty hero who appeared in the darkest times to level righteous fury against the enemies of mankind. The Warp Storms appeared several more times throughout the Chapter's history, and each time the Doom Tigers held back the forces of Chaos while suffering staggering losses themselves, but each time the storms subsided they rebuilt their strength in anticipation of the next storm.
Brother Godric continues to serve the Emperor and protect the subsector even after thousands of years in his mighty dreadnought armor. He has served as an advisor to the Chapter Masters who succeeded him and is viewed with a sense of reverence and awe by his battle brothers. He has an array of weaponry at his disposal, but rarely chooses to go into battle without both his dreadnought power fists. Mighty weapons in their own right, the fists serve mainly to house his primary weapons, three retractable lightning claws mounted on each. Under his left fist is a heavy flamer and under his right is the storm bolter he sometimes wielded in life. Both weapons are sanctified and use holy fuel and ammunition, making them effective against daemons and other Chaos minions of the Warp.
Countless enemies have fallen to the mighty dreadnought and ever has he been able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Being the most experienced warrior in the subsector and a brilliant strategist, he is often called upon to command the overall defense of the subsector in times of great danger.
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